The Karnataka High Court has declared that trial courts have no jurisdiction in law to entertain the question of legality of Look Out Circulars (LOCs), directed all taluk and district level trial courts not to entertain any objections to LOCs or direct police stations to remove/withdraw LOCs.
If trial courts are found to be encroaching on the LOC, such a suit will be taken seriously, the High Court said after it was pointed out that trial courts have encroached on the LOC in several cases.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna issued the directions while disposing of the petitions filed by the conflicted couple.
Only Constitutional Courts
“The LOC is an executive edict which is administrative in its conception and effect and is therefore beyond the reach of the courts to be overruled or tampered with. The role of such concerned court is limited strictly to adjudicating the criminal list in accordance with established procedure. The power to examine, quash or enforce the LOC,” flows exclusively from the Supreme Court in accordance with the Constitutional Court.
To oppose any interference with this established delimitation of powers would, according to the High Court, be to invite anarchy in the administration of justice.
“It is hereby emphatically declared and made clear that the learned Judges before whom the criminal proceedings are pending will not, under any pretext or pretext, entertain applications challenging or seeking revocation, suspension or modification of the LOC. Any leniency on the part of the Courts in this regard will be considered an act in excess of jurisdiction and invite severe disapproval from the Supreme Court.”
Husband’s Petition
The husband filed a suit in the High Court challenging the LOC and simultaneously moved the trial court to allow him to travel abroad by directing the city police to withdraw the LOC issued against him in connection with criminal cases registered against him by his wife on charges of harassment, dowry demand, domestic violence etc. while he was working in Scotland, UK.
The wife filed an application seeking a direction to the police to arrest her husband and initiate action against the police personnel who failed to arrest him when her husband arrived in India.
Published – 07 Nov 2025 19:43 IST
